


Dear Patience

by fallingfromthediningtable



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Artist Zayn Malik, Cheating, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Angst, M/M, Musician Harry, Musician Niall Horan, Musicians, Strangers to Lovers, Writer Louis Tomlinson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:53:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingfromthediningtable/pseuds/fallingfromthediningtable
Summary: Louis has  always prided himself on his ability to not fall in love. After watching his friends become heartbroken afterwards, he decided he never wanted it. Being a lonely writer never bothered him until he met Harry; and for the first time, he felt something completely different from what he had before.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne/Original Male Character(s), Niall Horan/Original Female Character(s), Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Kudos: 10





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! This is my first fic so please, please, be kind! I am open to suggestions and I am very excited to finish this!

I’ve always prided myself on my ability to not fall in love. It just didn’t happen to me. I’m not sure why or how but it never bothered me until I met him; and for the first time, I felt something.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“THERE IS A HOUSE IN NEW ORLEANS THEY CALL THE RISING SUN----”

“Oh fuck off” i muttered as I hit the snooze button on my alarm. I'm not even sure why it is my alarm. All it does is annoy me.

I just layed there for a bit, already suffering from my hangover when Last night's events came rushing back into my head and I scrambled for the door. 

My roommate, Liam and I were at a pub when his boyfriend (now ex) started making out with a girl. Liam then poured his drink on him and told him that they were done. The worst thing was that he didn’t even look sorry. I think that's what made Liam feel completely shattered. We spent the rest of the night eating an unholy amount of ice cream and drinking beer until we passed out. 

“Lima” I whispered walking into his room.

“Mmmmm”

“Liam, cmon its time to wake up”

“No shhh stop yelling”

“You need to take something”

“Go away Lou”

“Alright” I muttered. I decided to leave the glass of water and pill on his night stand. I guess we’ll have to talk later. 

Relationships have never really been my strong suit. I’ve been in a few, but they were never serious, or ended before they could become serious. The only semi-serious relationship I had been in was with my first boyfriend, Stan. 

He and I were about fifteen when we started questioning our sexuality. So, naturally we experimented together, which led to a relationship between us. He was my first everything, so it was a little bit serious. When we were sixteen he left for uni in America, and I haven’t seen him in person since. 

Now I just do hook ups. I don’t have the patience or energy to maintain a relationship, and no one actually wants to be in one with me anyway. 

Seeing Liam like this is really confusing for me because I have never felt this way. 

🔆🔅🔆

It's been two weeks since the big incident with Liam and he’s doing a lot better. I actually managed to get him out of our flat today. I was planning on running a few errands with him to keep his mind off of that shithead, when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Niall: hey mate, I’m moving to London with a friend of mine in a few weeks. Would you and Li want to get together for drinks sometime?

“Li” I asked

“Hmm?’ he answered

“Niall just texted saying he’s moving to London”

“wOt?”

“Niall just texted saying-”

“I HEARD YOU!!!” he exclaimed

“Did he say when?” he questioned

“Yeah, In a few weeks. He wants to go for drinks with us and his friend that he’s bringing with him.”

I really think he needs to get out more. He's starting to sound like me.

🔆🔅🔆 

3 weeks later

Lou,  
I’m out with a few friends from uni, I probably won't be back till tomorrow. Feel free to finish off the ice cream.

-Liam x 

That was all Liam left that morning when I woke up to the door slamming shut. I decided to stop at Tesco for a few items because we’re a little low on chicken nuggets (I can’t cook for shit). 

After sorting through my clothes for a less foul-smelling shirt I left for Tesco. 

🔆🔅🔆

Stopping in the produce aisle isn’t something I normally do, but recently Liam has found that he enjoys eating leaves after going to the gym. 

There were bags of salad at the top of the fridge, but I couldn't reach them. They must've designed them for bloody giants. 

I looked around to see if anyone was watching (not that he knew of) and the only person I spotted was a tall man wearing rather tight pants. But he seemed quite mesmerized in his selection of cucumbers. Oddly enough, His stance reminded me of Bambi.

So I began to climb the fridge and grab the salads. The balance was slippery but he managed to grab two bags before losing his grip on the shelf and tumbling onto the man he saw admiring the cucumbers earlier. 

“Oops!” I exclaimed as I crushed Bambi Legs below me

“Hi” Bambi Legs said back

I looked up to the man’s face and saw the most beautiful man I have ever seen in my life. His eyes were an exquisite shade of green with long brown eyelashes, He had vibrant curls that just about touched his shoulders, and to top it all off, he had bright pink pouty lips that were curved into a cheeky dimpled smile. 

After realizing I had been staring for a creepy amount of time, I quickly scrambled to pick up the fallen salads. 

“Are you alright?” the beautiful man asked

“Yeah, um I’m okay.” I answered

“I’m so sorry for falling on you. I couldn’t reach the salads.” 

“That’s alright, it's not everyday you get cute boys falling on you.”

Wow. That's...um

I blushed beet red. 

“I really must be going, but it was nice meeting you!” the taller man said

“Oh, Okay… Bye!” I answered. 

It was only a few moments later that I realized that I never learned his name. I guess I’ll just stick to Bambi legs.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2! I hope you I didn't take too long.

The next few days were absolute torture. All I have done is think about dimples and green eyes. I also have definitely not gone to Tesco everyday in hope of Bambi legs showing up. I just know Liam won't eat all of the salad I have bought.

Liam finally caught me and questioned why I had been to Tesco so often.

“Lou?” he asked

“Yeah?”

“Is there any reason why you’ve bought 16 salads in the past 3 days?”

“I thought you liked leaves”

“I- I do, just I don’t need sixteen salads”

I was about to make a snide remark when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

**Niall: Hey mate we’re all moved in! Are u and Liam free later for drinks?**

I quickly mentioned it to Liam and sent Niall a reply.

**Louis: YES! I’ll see you at our old pub**

I closed my phone and decided to take a shower. I might as well not look like I live in a garbage bin.

While I was washing my hair, my thoughts drifted back to Bambi Legs. I wonder what his name is. How old is he? Is he single? Is he gay? Wait no, he definitely is. Right? Was I just reading into his behavior? Maybe he’s just one of those people who's just naturally flirty. I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him. I wonder what his face looks like when he-

“LOU WE NEED TO LEAVE” Liam yelled

“ALRIGHT ALRIGHT GIVE ME A SECOND” I answered

I couldn't help but blush as I continued to think about him. I hope I see him again. I also really want to stop calling him Bambi legs as well.

I eventually got dressed and met a very disgruntled Liam waiting for me at the door.

“Why are you so slow?” he complained as we left our flat

“Lima, looking this good is hard work. You’d know if you looked like me.” I answered sassily

He sighed loudly and walked to the car to drive to Niall.

🔆🔅🔆

About 15 minutes later full of bickering, we arrived at the pub to meet Niall and his new roommate/friend. He hasn’t said much about him, so I have no idea what to expect.

“LOU” I heard the young Irish lad yell

“NIALL” I yelled back

He ran to us and engulfed us in a hug. What can I say? Liam's rubbed off on me

“You guys need to meet my roommate, Harry! He’ll be here any minute.” Niall said excitingly

We quickly sat down and ordered our first round of drinks for us all and began talking about Niall’s songwriting.

“So Ni, how’s the writing for your new album going?” Liam asked

“Alright, I haven't written much lately because of the move, but Harry’s been helping me write a few songs” Niall replied

“Oh he writes too?” I asked

“Yeah, he’s really talented. He’s got an amazing voice. Just wait till you hear him sing”

“Yeah mate, I can’t wait”

A few moments later Niall’s phone buzzes and he says its a text from harry.

“He’ll be here any minute” Niall says

A few minutes later we’re all a bit tipsy when I hear the chair next to me move and a taller man wearing a pink shirt with polka dots and skinny jeans sits down beside me. I don’t get a good look at his face because his longer hair and a hat is hiding it. Something about him is familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

“Hello! I’m so sorry I’m late, I’m Harry!”

Wait a second……

I know that voice!

“BAMBI LEGS!” I shout

“What?” they all turn to me

“Nothing” I stutter. I cannot believe I just said that aloud

“OH I know you!” Harry exclaims “You fell on me at Tesco a few weeks back!”

“Yeah…sorry bout that” I mumble out

“Oh! No worries, It happens” he says cheerfully

I blush and turn to face Niall and Liam, who are watching our interaction very carefully.

“Well then… that's great that you know each other! This is Liam, and that's Louis, who you already know of course!” said Niall

“Nice to meet ya mate, I heard that you sing and write!” Liam said

“Yeah! I do. That's actually how Niall and I met, I was singing at a venue and Niall came up to me and we just got to talking about music.”

I couldn’t help but wonder how bizarre this situation is. I just so happened to fall on top of him at Tesco right after finding out that Niall’s moved back to London, and now he’s friends with Niall and is also his roommate. I can’t believe I fantasized about him. How am I going to see him when I hang out with Niall without stuttering and sounding like a bloody idiot? I’m fucked.

🔆🔅🔆

About an hour later we’re all about drunk when Liam’s phone buzzes and he blushes as he picks it up. He didn’t drink much, but I did, and I know when he’s flustered. Who made him blush? Did he meet someone new? All my thoughts about this multiply when Liam stands up abruptly.

“I…I have to leave... “ Liam said quickly

“Um alright, Is everything okay?” I asked

“Yes!...I mean, Yes, I just have to go. Can you guys call a cab to bring you home?” he asked

“Yeah of course, go, have fun” I answered

He nodded and swiftly left the pub. I looked at Niall and saw he had a similar confused expression on his face as mine. As for Harry, I can’t look at him without getting lost in his shining emerald green eyes. Oh, how they sparkle, and make me want to- AH NO NO NO What is wrong with me? I sound like a character in one of my books. This is not going to be some cheesy romance. I need to snap out of it! I don't fall in love, I don’t have feelings for people. Especially people I have just met. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Chapter 3 will be up in 3 days! :)


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m heading home for a few days, I’ll be back on Saturday”

That’s all Liam said when he left, with no notice. That’s just...great. I tried calling Niall to see if he was free, but he’s busy with whatever he does these days. So that leaves me alone in my flat, suffering from a terrible writer's block.  
Being a writer is exhausting. It’s one of my favorite things to do, but I run out of ideas constantly. My most recent book is a romance novel. Not what I usually write, but It’s actually coming along well. It’s about two strangers who meet in a coffee shop, when one of them spills coffee on the other. They meet again through a mutual friend, and their romance blossoms from there. 

I decided to put away my book for a little while, and head to the club and maybe I could bring someone home. It has been a while since I’ve been laid. 

🔆🔅🔆

I’ve now got an extremely good looking man clearly flirting with me, but I really was not interested. He’s also a massive prick who is trying to flaunt his wealth. It’s quite strange for me to not be interested, because a good fuck is a good fuck right? But I getting kind of tired of him, so I decide to tell him to fuck off politely. 

“Yeah, so that’s about how much my house, cars, and -” 

“Look mate, I’ve gotta tell you that it’s great that you’ve got a ton of money, but I’m really not interested, so have a good night.” I say as I walk away from him. 

🔆🔅🔆

I’m sitting at the bar when I hear my name shouted over the crowd. I’m just going to ignore it, because it could just be the prick from earlier.  
“LOUIS”  
I turned that time to see who it was and it was a certain curly haired man who was beaming (dimples in all) at me.  
“Harry?” I asked as he walked over to me

“Yeah! Hi Louis! How’re ya?”

“I’m alright mate, so what are you doing here? This doesn’t seem like your setting” 

“Yeah you’re right about that. I’m actually here with my boyfriend, Nick, and a few friends” he answered

I’m really not sure why a huge wave of jealousy and anger washed the smile off my face, and I didn’t like the feeling of it. It seemed like Harry noticed it when he said,

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah...yeah I’m fine.” I answered

“Oh alright, sorry you just seemed a bit off”

“Yeah, I’m just a bit tired s’all.”

🔆🔅🔆

Harry and I have been talking for a while, when a man comes up from behind Harry and plants a kiss on his cheek.  
“Nick!” Harry says cheerfully

Oh… so this is the boyfriend  
Well…Okay

“Who’s this?” Nick asks Harry. I am most definitely not offended when he doesn't even look at me. 

“Oh, this is my friend, Louis, he’s friends with Niall.” he answers. Okay, Now he looks at me. What is wrong with this guy?

“Um hi nice to meet ya” I said reaching out to shake his hand. “Did you move to London too?” I asked, because I was genuinely curious to see what his and Harry’s relationship was like.

“No, I’ve actually had a house here in London for a while, so I am actually here to spend some time with Harry and I’ll be heading back to the States.” he answered

“Oh, so you do long distance?”

“Yes, but we’ve made it work for the past 2 years, and besides, I plan to move my practice here in about a year.” he answered, as if that cleared everything up. I knew almost nothing about this man, and he was speaking to me like I should already know this. 

“Practice?” I asked just to humble him. Harry mentioned he was a lawyer earlier, but it’s always fun to fuck with people.  
“I’m a lawyer, rather successful, if I say so” he said boastfully

“Wow, ThAtS rEaLlY iNtErEsTiNg.” I really couldn’t care less. 

“Mmm baby I’m tired.” Harry said to Nick. I had almost completely forgotten he was there. I was too busy trying to rile up Nick. Hearing him call Nick “Baby” did something to me, and all I really wanted to do was go home. Harry also seemed rather drunk, so I decided to say goodbye to them both and head home. For some reason, I really wasn’t in the mood to get laid. I chose to ignore that It was probably because of Nick. 

🔆🔅🔆

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. My head was spinning from my massive hangover, so I decided to just ignore the call. When it rang again, I picked up and just yelled into the phone, without looking at the caller ID. 

“WHAT?” I yelled as I answered my phone. Yelling definitely did not help with my hangover. 

“Um hey, It’s Harry, did I call at a bad time?” he asked, like he was genuinely concerned. 

I dropped my cup of tea, and it shattered on the floor. How does he have my number? Oh wait, I gave it to him last night. I wonder why he called.  
“Hello?” he asked, and I completely forgot he was there.

“Oh, hey Harry, sorry, no it's not a bad time.” 

“Okay good, great! I was actually wondering if maybe you’d want to meet up somewhere to talk about a few things?” He asked. He also sounded nervous, he probably wondered if he was overstepping. Which, he, of course, was not. 

I stepped forward, and stepped on the forgotten shattered cup. 

“FUCKING WANKER” I yelled as the glass pierced my foot

“Oh, well you don’t have to-” he said, sounding hurt

“YES!!...I mean, yes, sorry, I’d love to, when and where?” I really have to stop doing that

“Okay, great! How about in about an hour at the Starbucks by Mine and Niall’s flat?” he asked. I, of course, was very excited. Is it a date? No, it wasn't because he has a boyfriend. Maybe they broke up? No, that’s none of my business. So, I just casually answered with a “Sounds good, see you there,” and swiftly hung up.  
I have to go get ready to see Harry! Which may or may not be a date!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm so sorry that it's taken so long to update. My mental health hasn't been great recently, so I've been focusing on myself. I'll try to update more frequently.

So Liam not being home became a thing. 

I’m pretty sure he’s seeing someone, but I have more important things to worry about. I have to meet Harry at Starbucks in 15 minutes, and I don't even like coffee. What am I supposed to do? I’ve showered, shaved, and come up with about 60 different scenarios as to what could happen later. If you can’t tell, I’m extremely nervous. 

After changing my trousers for the third time, I hear my phone vibrate on my bed. 

**Harry- I’m here! Just lemme when you are.**

I most certainly did not squeal after seeing his name pop on the screen, and sent back a quick response. 

**Louis- alright see you there**

After grabbing my keys, and contemplating if i should change my shirt again, I ran out the door. 

🔆🔅🔆

Harry was sitting at a table towards the front when I walked in, and he looked absolutely stunning. He was wearing black skinnies, gold boots, and a white (nearly see through) button up that was only buttoned half way. His curls were laying softly on his shoulders, and I could see his cross necklace between his tattoos. Wait. TATTOOS?!?! This isn’t fair. 

I tried my best not to gawk at his tattoos as I walked over but it was hard not to. They were just so...him. I didn’t even know him, but they just seemed to reflect his personality so well. I mean, he has a butterfly on his stomach. Can it get any cheesier than that?

“Louis!” Harry exclaimed brightly

“Hi Harry, how are you?” I asked

“I’m great! You?”

“I’m alright” 

I‘m having a hard time not staring at his chest, so I might be keeping my answers short for a bit. 

“I don’t want to be intrusive, but is everything alright? You sounded...uh...tense, on the phone.” he asked nervously. It’s sweet how he seemed like he actually cared. Maybe he and I will be good friends once I get whatever feelings I'm having out of the way. 

“Um...what? I don't- OH- I’m fine, I had just stepped on a shattered teacup.”

“Oh no! Are you alright? Are you sure you should be on your feet? Are you still bleeding? If you are we could head to the hospital. I-”

“Harry! I’m fine, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”

“Oh I’m sorry. I just like you a lot! And I really hope we can be friends, and I don’t like it when my mates get hurt.” 

No. No. No. I can’t do this. He’s too kind. How am I supposed to get rid of my feelings if he's like this, and I’m...me. I’m nowhere as good as he is. He actually reached out! I’ve almost never had a new friend do that. 

“Oh yeah...that’d be great, I’d really like that.”

“Good. good. Um, there was actually a reason I asked you here. I heard from Niall that you were a writer, and I was wondering if you’d like to try to write some music with me? I really like when music tells a story, and since you are a writer, I’m guessing you’re good at that.” 

“Uh, yeah, that would be nice.”

“Ok great! When are you free to start? I’m pretty busy with Nick this week, but I’ll be free after saturday.” 

Ugh, right. That guy. 

“One of the benefits of being a writer is that I’m almost always free, so whenever.”

“Okay! I have to go meet Nick soon, so I’ll have to let you go. Can I call you?

“Yeah! Yeah um do you have my number? Oh- never mind...I guess I’ll see you soon?”

“Yes! See you soon!”

🔆🔅🔆

“FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK”

“Lou?” Fucking Liam. My nonexistent roommate. 

“Oh hey Li. where’ve you been?”

“Oh you know...out.” Okay now there is definitely something going on. Why does everyone else have a fucking love life. I can’t even get laid and my best friend has already moved on from “the love of his life.” What the hell.

“Where’s out?” 

“Urm...y’know...out.”

“Alright keep lying to me Li, and see what happens. I’m so tired of this.”

It’s not necessarily Liam who’s pissing me off, it’s just everything at once. Harry, his ugl- I mean “nice” boyfriend, and my best friend lying to me, even Niall is distant. I need to get a life. 

  
  
  



End file.
